Expert: Dr. Sharon A. Mitchell - 12/15/2008

Question
Hi,  my 3 1/2 year old son is generally a happy baby, social smiles, coos, babbles and squeals and has seemed to reach most if not all of the milestones for his age. I am concerned though that when he is sitting on my lap he sometimes gets fussy and throws himself backwards and becomes very irritable. He sometimes is hard to entertain and gets fidgity really quickly. Also he has shown no interest in trying to roll over except to roll onto his side. Could these be symptoms of autism? I am very worried.

Thank you very much, Karen


Answer
With all the talk on the news about the rise in autism diagnoses, it's hard not to have the thought of autism run through your mind.

You mention that your son is 3 1/2 years  but I wonder if you meant to say 3 1/2 months? The behavior you describe seem to be more of a baby than of a toddler.

It's not easy to detect autism in babies and most children aren't diagnosed until at least the toddler stages; many later than that.

Since you say that your son is happy, social, smiles, coos and babbles, I'm not sure my thoughts would go toward an autism spectrum disorder. It's not unusual for a child of this age to become fussy, irritable or to throw himself back against you.

While all children develop at their own pace, there are rough guidelines for when kids typically show certain skills. At around your child's age, many babies learn to roll over. It sounds like your son is at least part-way there. Below is a link that will describe milestones infants often meet at certain ages. Keep in mind though that these are just guidelines.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-1-to-6-months_1496585.bc

Even though your child is very young, is social, is making sounds and is meeting developmental milestones, I understand that you're worried. I'd suggest that you tell your doctor about your concerns. Likely, he will reassure you that things seem on track with your little boy.

But if you still continue to worry, here is some further information that you can use to gage your son's progress over the next year or so:

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bhealth/0,,8gjjkbws,00.html

Here are a couple autism checklists that are used for toddlers:

http://depts.washington.edu/dataproj/chat.html

http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/wetherby-csbsdp/checklist.htm

http://www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html

Remember that the above checklists are not meant for babies but for toddlers, at the very youngest.

Communication difficulties are common in children with autism. I think that if you check out the link below, you'll see that your son's communication skills are about what you would expect from a baby his age. Under the chart at this link are suggestions on ways you can help encourage your child's development.

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01.htm

Enjoy your little guy. He's lucky to have a you as a mom.

Sharon A. Mitchell, B.A., B.Ed., M.A.
www.autismsite.ca